The two fugitives from the federal penitentiary of Mossoró (RN) were captured this Thursday (4), 50 days after their escape. Rogério da Silva Mendonça, 35 years old, and Deibson Cabral Nascimento, 33, were found in Marabá (PA) in a joint action by the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police. They had escaped from prison in the early hours of February 14th. The escape was the first since the implementation of the Federal Penitentiary System in Brazil in 2006.
According to the PRF, in addition to Rogério da Silva Mendonça and Deibson Cabral Nascimento, four people were arrested. The corporation also reported that it seized a rifle from the fugitives from the Mossoró prison.
The search for the detainees involved at least 600 agents. Since escaping from prison, Rogério and Deibson had been seen on several occasions. Two days after escaping, the men allegedly took a family hostage in the rural area of Mossoró. On that day, the police also found footprints, shoes, clothes, sheets and a rope, as well as a prison uniform t-shirt, in a wooded area.
The task force dedicated to the capture found, on February 25, a possible hiding place where the fugitives remained for a few days, close to the prison. A machete, a tarp and several food packages were discovered at the scene.
On February 27, the fugitives were spotted in a village in Rio Grande do Norte, where they were recognized by local residents. Before the police could intervene, they returned to the woods. A reward of R$30,000 was offered by the Federal Police for information leading to the capture of the fugitives.
Suspected of helping escape
Three individuals were arrested on suspicion of helping to escape inmates from the maximum security penitentiary in Mossoró, in Rio Grande do Norte. The arrests took place on the border between Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará on February 22.
In addition to the arrests, weapons, drugs, ammunition and a vehicle suspected of having been used to supply weapons to criminals during their escape were seized.
In addition to these suspects, the Integrated Force to Combat Organized Crime in Acre arrested the brother of one of the fugitives from the Mossoró Federal Penitentiary. He had an open arrest warrant for robbery and participation in a criminal organization.
Another man, suspected of collaborating with the fugitives, was arrested on February 26. Identified as Ronaildo da Silva Fernandes, he owns a farm in Baraúna, in the division of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará. Fernandes would have received R$5,000 to shelter the fugitives for eight days. The fugitives, Deibson Nascimento and Rogério Mendonça, escaped from the maximum security penitentiary on February 14.
First escape in history from a federal penitentiary
The escape is the first since the implementation of the SPF (Federal Penitentiary System) in Brazil, in 2006. The inmates had access to tools used in the renovation that the unit is undergoing. For the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, a “series of factors” led to the escape, such as construction flaws in the prison structure and lack of functioning cameras and lamps.
The two prisoners escaped through the lamp on a side wall of the cell. After crossing the opening, the fugitives climbed the shaft — an internal space for the passage of pipes and electrical installations — to the ceiling, where they broke a metal grate and reached the prison's roof.
“Instead of the luminaire and the surrounding area being protected by a concrete slab, it was closed by a simple common masonry work. Another problem concerns the construction technique and the project. When the fugitives left through the luminaire, they entered what is called a shaft, where the prison is maintained, with machines, pipes and wiring”, explained the minister in an interview.
The fugitives would have managed to reach, through the shaft, the ceiling of the prison system, where there was no slab, railing or protection system. “It's a question of design. Whoever did it should have imagined that the protection should have been more efficient”, assessed the minister.
For Lewandowski, the fact that the criminals' action took place in the early hours of Carnival Tuesday for Ash Wednesday may have made the operation easier, because “people tend to be more relaxed” during this period.
Penitentiary structure
The Mossoró penitentiary has a total area of 12,300 m². According to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, inmates are kept in individual cells, equipped with a bedroom, toilet, sink, shower, table and seat. There are no sockets or electronic equipment.
Within federal penitentiaries, there are basic health units, and all basic care is provided by the local team of specialists and technicians. There are also offices for lawyers and videoconference rooms for participation in court hearings.
To be transferred to the federal penitentiary system, prisoners must have a leadership position or commit a crime that puts their physical integrity at risk in the common prison; join a gang involved in crimes involving violence or serious threats; be defendants who are collaborators or award-winning whistleblowers with a risk to their physical integrity; or be involved in escapes, violence or serious indiscipline in the prison of origin.
